Page 43 of Warrior Rescued

“I shot up when I reached maturity. Those same little warriors would never mess with me now,” he chuckled.

“I bet. Oh crap. I forgot to leave the light behind.” She glanced at the artificial torch in the hibernation chamber. “Oh well.”

“We can bring it back later if we have to.” Though he really wanted the next time they came here to be with help.

He took another step and his boot sloshed, making him pause. Elena looked at the ground, then back down the slowly descending tunnel, her eyes growing wide.

“We need to get out of here now!” she frantically insisted.

He glanced back to see the water steadily rising behind them. Swiftly he grabbed Elena, deposited her into the hibernation chamber of the pod and started running.

“Shit, shit, shit. I don’t know what happened,” she declared as more water started pouring in from the entrance ahead.

He ran faster, pushing his muscles to work harder, his focus on the speck of daylight ahead. The rising water made it a struggle, but their life depended on it. As he surged through the entrance, the water was already up to his knees and rapidly rising.

“Payim!” Elena shouted, terror filling her voice.

From the far end of the canyon a towering rolling wave was heading their way. There was no way he could climb the steep wall at his back fast enough. Dread filled him as he glanced toward the other end of the gorge and the water cascading into the chasm. They were doomed. There was really only one option, ride it out in the stasis pod.

“Lay down flat!” he shouted over the churning water trying to tug them downstream.

Elena swiftly dropped down, kicking the bag and torch to the foot of the chamber. The instant he let go of the rocky wall they were grabbed by the current. With the stasis pod hovering over the rising water, it was a bit of a struggle, but he gripped the edge of the pod and leapt, kicking off of the rocks beneath him.

“Oh God,” Elena cried out as the pod rocked, threatening to capsize. “Get in. Get in.” She tugged his arm as he threw one leg over the edge then the other.

The hibernation chamber was never meant for two people, much less a warrior. Elena anxiously looked up at him as she pressed herself into the padded bed. He straddled her legs, bending his knees so he could fit, then lay flat against her chest, his elbows bearing the weight of his upper body. The entire time the stasis pod bobbed and spun, hitting against rocks and the Miran Sona ship debris as they sped toward the drop.

“Can you reach the inner controls?” he asked, his cheek plastered to the side of her face.

“Yes.”

“Seal it quick,” he barked, quickly taking stock of where his tail was.

He felt her hand fumble with the controls by his ribs, but then there was a distinct swish overhead.

“Tuck down beneath me. I will shield you,” he insisted just as the pod violently struck something, jarring them, then whirled chaotically in the torrent.

“Payim!”

He could hear the terror in her muffled voice and knew she was picturing what happened to the people and the pods in the crash. Hopefully that wasn’t their fate and the clear dome would hold, but if it didn’t, he wanted to bear the brunt.

“Do it!”

He felt her damp cheek as she nodded, then she curled beneath him as much as she possibly could. No sooner had she shifted then they were suddenly weightless, the pod plummeting into the chasm.

Goddess, keep us in your arms,he prayed, curled around the mate he’d barely had time to know, but cherished with all his being.

Elena

She tasted blood as she bit her lip, repressing the scream fighting to get free. The pod kept bashing into rocks, flipping end over end and her stomach rebelled, but she managed to hold down the vomit. Payim clutched her between his forearms and cramped legs, keeping her from rattling around like a ragdoll. He was jarred, a growling grunt bursting out, each time they struck something, and tears streamed from her eyes imagining how battered his back was. The dome was tough, but not impenetrable. With the way the pod creaked and groaned, she couldn’t tell if the dome was failing, and her tears fell faster. All she could do was press her face tighter against Payim’s chest and listen to his thundering heartbeat.

“Elena, are you okay? I smell your blood,” Payim murmured, worry threading his voice.

She couldn’t open her mouth. If she did, she feared what might come out.

“Elena!” he repeated, alarmed.

“I…I’m fine. You?” she stammered, then sealed her lips again.

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